Friday, September 02, 2011

Ask anybody under 30 what the island of Ibiza is famous for and they will tell you dance clubs and drugs. Not surprising really because the two go together like a hand and a glove.

There are other aspects to the white island, like the beautiful resorts that lie dotted around the coast but the main pull for the young are the clubs of San Antonio that offer all night music.

As I said the other day, to keep going all night these days means popping a few pills so alongside the clubs you have the drugs trade –that is a feature of the island that the authorities want to clean up.

Thirteen people were arrested including 10 from the UK and two from the Republic of Ireland in a joint operation with The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency nicknamed 'Rula'. Some 3,600 ecstasy pills were seized, along with five kilograms of MDMA - a form of ecstasy - and four kilograms of cocaine. Also found were 69,000 euros (£60,000).

In a second operation, called 'Dragones', police arrested 60 people, some of them believed to be members of Italian Camorra mafia, Those arrested include alleged heads of a crime clan on the island. Police seized 1,950 pills and 21,000 euros in 22 houses and five premises in the Dragones operation.

Those operations represent a major coup for the police. Sadly, there will be others waiting to take the place of those arrested and a fresh supply of pills will no doubt be on its way. Although the police may score a victory now and again, the war against drugs is never going to be over.